Salman Khan brings in his superstar persona in all his roles. While writing Kick, how did you make sure the character’s voice did not get lost with the noise of his stardom?

Basically, you have to write for a character. At one point you have to forget who is playing the character. My writing can never match Salman sir’s stardom but as a writer I have to justify his stardom.

How did you come up with the defining dialogue of Kick—“Mere bare mein itna mat sochna, dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahin”?

Kick is a tribute to Salman’s persona. The character of Devil is very much like Salman in real life. So while writing, I blended these two thoughts. The line came quite late in the day but once I got it, I knew we have got the film. This dialogue best summarises the film.

Salman is known to make a lot of suggestions in the writing process, especially in terms of giving inputs for dialogues. How did you take that? Are you possessive about your lines?

Yes, I’m possessive about my lines as every writer should be but I’m not an egoistical writer. If someone comes up with a better line, I’ll be stupid to reject it. Ultimately all the credit will go to me. I’m quite selfish that way. I don’t like sharing my credit. Jokes aside, filmmaking is all about collaboration. Even while making music, the director tells the music director that he wants changes in the composition. If a music composer can take suggestions, why can’t a writer? I have learnt a lot from Salman sir while working with him. His wisdom and zeal to work hard is inspiring. In this industry we always wonder about the talented few who didn’t make it. We will always wonder, ‘Woh banda kaafi talented tha par chala kyun nahin?’ With time, you realise that he didn’t click for a reason, there were some issues. When you work with superstars, you understand why there is euphoria about them. You see the huge effort they put in, the way they work with the team and make everyone give their best.

As a writer, what gives you a kick?

In four years, I’ve only written four films (Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, The Dirty Picture, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobaara and Kick) which is atypical. Usually people write four films in one year,